Apologies to Labasheeda whose BotD slipped through the cracks a couple of weeks ago. On the positive side, it means we’re just in time to plug their new video for “Infralight” which you can enjoy at the end!
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are from Amsterdam and Haarlem, The Netherlands.
How did you meet?
Arne and I met in 2005, when the bands we were in at the time shared the stage on a couple of occasions. Renato and Jan have played together since the late ’90s with a guitarist who was an old friend of Arne.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Arne joined Labasheeda in 2007, Renato joined us exactly a year ago, and Jan last March.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Labasheeda is a town in Ireland (some relatives of the original bass player lived there). It apparently means silk sheets as well.
What are your influences?
They vary from jazz, classical music to hardcore.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We call it ourselves artpunk. Accordingly our audience the music is energetic,hypnotising and intense.
If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Not really, but quite often I’m inspired by the people around me and their behaviour.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
At the moment I think our shows are very energetic, but also dynamic. Some songs end in psychedelic soundscapes. According to our site, we have done 244 gigs so far.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Throwing a glass of wine in the face of a programmer. We also once missed the boat to Scotland and then drove the whole night to make it on time to our show in Glasgow (which turned out to be a pretty good show).
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Jan plays a home made three piece (13″/20″/26″) with a 1930s Olympic 14 x 6,5 snare, 15″ Paiste Rude hats, and 20″/22″ dual crash rides from Meinl.
Renato plays a modded Squier Precision Bass over a Kustom B100 tuck n roll with matching 4×12 cabinet (unlike Jan, he is a bit of a gearhead).
Saskia plays a Rickenbacker guitar over a Vox AC15. She plays also on an old french violin (which belonged to Arne’s grandfather).
Arne plays a Vantage guitar over Renato’s London City top at the moment (as it’s basically the same as his own Power City amplifier).
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Our new record Status Seeking.
What are your plans for the next 6 months or so?
We will do some livestream concerts. There will be two youtube videoclips of songs from the album the coming months. We want to use this period also to work on new materials. Hopefully our tour in May to the Czech Republic and Germany can go through!
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
We would love to support Sebadoh. There are many bands that we would love to have as opener, one of them is the French band Don Aman.
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Labasheeda: facebook | twitter | instagram | soundcloud | bandcamp | spotify | youtube
